Finding What Was Lost
by Tesariel Evenstar
Summary: The only love she had ever known came from her mother. When she fell into a distant land, she found more than she could have ever imagined.
1. Prologue

Prologue

It was foggy outside due to the countless hours of rain. Safely tucked inside a house were four teenage girls, dressed in their nighties, ready for bed. I was one of those girls. Gabe they call me, short for Gabriel. It is sort of a strange name for someone in the 1940's. huh? But none-the-less, it is my name, and this is my story.

Sarah finished reading her excerpt from "Romeo and Juliet" aloud to the rest of us. She was a hopeless romantic. Katie sighed and rolled over onto her stomach, facing me.

"Do you think that there could possibly be a story more wonderful than that?" She asked, setting about tying her blond hair up in a red ribbon. Sasha, the girl next to me shook her head.

"I don't think so. I think that tops them all." She said. I remained silent for a few moments. I had heard of one. Memories began to flood back to me like the steady flowing of a stream... a kiss here, a fight there... I hadn't seen him in almost a year.

Not one person sitting in the room with me had heard the story. They wouldn't believe it if they did. In fact, they didn't know many things about me. I had many secrets. You see, the life that I was leading at the present was sort of a new life for me. Let me explain...

My mother died when I was four. I was left alone in London with an alcoholic step-father. My mother married him only for the money that he could provide for us. He had never loved me. The beatings began when I was six.

I endured many years in that house, and I always remained with at least two or three cuts or bruises. I grew so tired of the pain. Not knowing where I was headed, I ran one night, leaving my old life behind.

I lived on the streets for nearly two weeks, stealing when I needed to eat, and sleeping where I could find shelter. One night, with rain pouring profusely from the heavens, I stumbled across a wood. I don't know why... but I was drawn to it.

I stumbled along no distinct path for what seemed like hours. I finally found myself, dirty, scratched, and exhausted, in front of a rather large house. A rather large_ empty_ house. Without hesitation, I raced forward, and was not surprised to find the door open...

"What do you think, Gabe?" asked Sarah, "Is there a story as wonderful as that?" Could I tell them? Did I have the strength?

"Yes, I have." I replied softly. The three girls whipped around to face me.

"Which story?" Sasha asked, her eyes shining eagerly.

"Yes, please tell us!" Sarah exclaimed. I took a deep breath.

"Alright."


	2. The Beginning of The Beginning

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it does not belong to me. Gabriel, however, does.

Chapter One : The Beginning of The Beginning

Dust clouded in front of me as I walked into the deserted house. It smelled musty. One could tell that it had not been lived in for many years. My eyes adjusted to the darkness. I threw my soaking wet overcoat to the ground. It had been raining for two days. I was glad of my newly found shelter.

I had always loved to explore, anyway... and I could do plenty of it in the mansion that I was currently standing in. The full moon streaming through the boarded up windows helped me see my way to the bottom of a large grand staircase. I pulled my flashlight from my backpack, and started to climb, dust clouding up before me with every cautious step that I took.

I stopped on the second floor landing, but felt that I should go on... like someone invisible was calling me to the third floor... so I climbed on.

Before me loomed a long corridor. I walked slowly, taking in my surroundings.

Whoever had lived here before had been rich. There were antique vases, and old nick-nacks that lined shelves and cupboards, which in turn lined the hallways. The carpet was so thick, that my footsteps made no noise when I walked.

When I came to the right door (and yes, I knew that it was right), I opened it slowly, and crept in. It was a bedroom. A huge bedroom, with an intricately carved canopy bed right in the center of it. A large oak dresser sat to my right. To my left, there was a glorious looking fireplace.

My body suddenly shivered, as to remind me that I had been out in the cold for days. I walked over to the fireplace, and was surprised to find adequate wood to make a fire, as well as matches. I was even more surprised at how clean the room was. Everywhere else in the house had been covered in dust. This room, was completely spotless. It was as though it had just been dusted.

I struck a match. Surely no one would see... there wasn't a house around for miles... I dropped the match on to a log, and nearly had to jump back as the fire sprang to life, instantaneously. It was perfect.

I stood, and walked over to the bed. I wasn't surprised to find a long silk gown, just my size laid out upon it, or the covers already turned down and the pillows fluffed. It was as though the house knew that I was coming.

I slid off my soaking wet clothes, and slid the gown over my head. It felt so wonderfully soft. I slid myself into the covers and marveled at how soft the bed was. I don't know why, but I felt so at home in that house. I felt like I had lived there for years. When my eyes wandered to the canopy above me, I gasped.

There was the most beautiful picture I had ever seen painted there. It was a lovely mural. In describing it, I would do it no justice, yet I will try for the sake of this story.

It was a beautiful, lush forest, with snow covering the fir trees. They themselves seemed large, and proud. They almost seemed to be moving, as though they were swaying in a gentle breeze. In the midst of the wood flowed an icy, but beautiful river.

Beside of it, stood a man... animal... being. Yes, that's it, a being. He was half man, and half horse, it seemed. A centaur, is that right? Yes, I believe that it is. His black flank glistened in the sunlight, and like the trees, he stood tall and proud.

I yawned. I hadn't slept properly in three nights. My eyes began to shut, yet, they opened quickly as I noticed something disturbing about that picture... it was moving. The water was flowing. The trees really _had_ been swaying in the breeze. The centaur stepped forward, and drank from the river,

And then, the oddest feeling that had ever come over me enveloped me. I felt as though someone was pulling me forward by the insides of my stomach; like some invisible hook had me by the navel. And then I was falling, though I was lying still. When I realized what was happening, I saw that I really _was_ falling. The bedroom had disappeared. I saw the trees whizzing by. My body fell faster and faster, and then SPLASH! The icy water of the river met my body with force.

I rose to the surface, and came face to face with a very pointy sword. It was held by the centaur.

"Who are you? How did you get here?" He asked, his booming voice making the hairs on the back of my neck prickle. I suppose the icy water helped.

"My name is Gabriel," I said, " and I don't know how I came to be here!" He studied me for a moment, then sheathed his sword. I sighed, and began to shiver. He had suddenly taken me by the underarm and hoisted me out of the river.

The nightgown clung to my wet body, and I tried desperately to cover myself. He saw my misery, and his eyes softened.

"I will get you a blanket." He said. I nodded appreciatively, and tried to control my chattering teeth. I looked around. I was most definitely _not_ in Kansas anymore.

The centaur returned, and placed a large brown wool blanket over my shoulders. I gladly accepted the warmth, pulling it tighter around my shivering form. I looked up and noticed him studying me.

"Are you... human?" He asked. I nodded. He looked surprised.

"Where am I?" I asked, trying not to shiver.

"You are in Narnia." He said. I wrinkled my brow.

"I've never heard of Narnia." I replied. The centaur nodded his head.

"Because it is not of your world." He said. Somehow, I knew that he was speaking the truth.

"Aren't there any humans here?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

"Not by nature," he said. I was silent.

"My name is Oreius, Gabriel. I am a centaur." He said. I nodded.

"Please tell me of how you got here."

Oreius stroked his chin inquisitively. He had lit a nice warm fire as I had been telling my story. I was not shivering anymore. He had made me start at the main beginning, with my running away from home. Oreius was the only person that I had ever told about my beatings, and I barely knew him. Yet, I felt that I could trust this centaur. Isn't it strange that I wasn't even frightened upon meeting a mythological creature?

"I shall have to take you with me." He said.

"Take me where?" I asked, though I was not afraid.

"To my home, the shuddering wood."

a/n: I don't know if this showed up on the first chapter or not, so I will just say it again. This is my first fanfic, so I would appreciate it if no one would flame me, at least not too terribly. I probably won't get to update as often as I would like, and I apologize for that, but I am often busy during the summer. I would also like to warn to mary sue haters out there, that while this will not intentionally be a mary sue, it may turn out that way regardless. Sorry!


	3. The Secret Police

Disclaimer: if you recognize it, its not mine. Gabriel, however, is.

I had been in Narnia for nearly five hours. At the present moment, I was standing in front of a large cave. Smoke rose from the top of it, and Oreius had told me to stay outside, explaining that dwarves may not take too kindly to a human. Still, it looked warm in there, and I wished that I was inside with him.

I leaned against a nearby tree, Dogwood by the look of it. Oreius was in the cave nearly ten minutes before he came out with an armful of equipment.

"Try these," he said, throwing me a blue tunic, silver breeches, and a grey jerkin, "they should fit." I nodded, and stepped behind a tree to dress myself.

I shivered in the cold winter air. "When will it get warmer here?" I asked, buttoning up my new tunic. I almost heard Oreius tense.

"We do not have summer here." He replied stoically. I felt slightly taken aback. Back at home I had always loved the summer and spring months, when I could run and play outside. Anything was better than being indoors and in reach of my dad. Did I really _want_ to stay in a place that was always wintry and cold? A place that would resurface so many painful memories just because of the weather outside?

"You don't have a summer, or spring, or fall?" I asked, pulling the breeches over my legs, and nearly falling over in the process. I wasn't the most graceful human.

"No," Oreius began, "but it was not always so. We had the most glorious summers before the witch came." A cold feeling chilled my bones, and was not entirely caused by the endless amount of ice and snow around me.

"Witch?" I questioned, pushing the hair from my face as I tried to put my left boot on while balancing against my makeshift dressing room/tree.

"She claims to be the queen of this country. She is not, however. Aslan is our true ruler." He replied. At the mention of that name, I came out from behind my tree. My cold feeling had been replaced by a glorious warm one at the mere mention of that name.

"Aslan is the true king?" I asked. Oreius nodded.

"He has been away for a while. I expect he will be returning soon." He stopped my array of questions by thrusting a bow at me, as well as a quiver full of arrows.

"Do you know how to use these?" He asked. I had taken archery in school, and the teacher told me that I had the best aim that he had ever seen. "You were born to be an archer!" He would say each week. At that moment I was very glad of my training. I nodded my head.

"Good. Strap this on then." He said, handing the quiver to me. After strapping it on my back, he handed me a slightly rusted sword.

"As for this sword... do not use it unless you have to. I don't want you getting that close to a battle if I can help it." He said. I took the blade and strapped it around my waist as he instructed how.

"Come now," He said, "we do not have that far to travel." He said.

"I feel like I am going to drop already." I replied as he began to lead me westward.

"You humans tire so easily." He said.

"Will there be a place for me to sleep?" I asked. Oreius didn't turn around, but I could tell that he was smiling.

"Do you think that I am going to leave you out in the cold, young one?"

Not Far? We walked for hours. I was so tired, that I did not think that I could make it twenty more feet. It was a beautiful thing, then , when Oreius said, "Look, there is the edge of the forest. We are nearly there."

I suddenly heard a deep growl from behind me, and didn't really have time to react as I was pummeled to the forest floor. When I looked up, I came face to face with a large grey wolf. I heard the sound of Oreius drawing his sword.

"Be still, Centaur, or I'll rip out her throat!" He warned. Yes. The wolf could talk.

"Gather round!" He yelled, and nearly ten other wolves closed in around the three of us.

"Now tell me... are you from around here?" He asked, his hot breath sticky on my face. I could tell that he had just had a fresh kill. I panicked. Did they like outsiders here?

"Y... yes." I lied. He looked into my eyes.

"You're lying." He replied. I shook my head.

"No I'm not. I am from the... Shuddering Wood." I prayed that I had the name right. Apparently I did. He growled, and closed his teeth around my neck. I felt tears gather at the corners of my eyes.

"She wears dwarfish attire, Maugrim. Perhaps she is a dwarf." One of the others suggested. The wolf, Maugrim, removed him paw from my chest.

"Maybe. But still... I have never seen a dwarf of your nature." He growled. He beckoned for three of his companions to come forward. I got hurriedly to me feet.

"Take her to the queen." He said, and sped off Southward. I felt teeth sink into my flesh as two wolves bit down hard on my wrists and began to drag me forward. I looked back for Oreius, only to see that he was gone. He had deserted me. I gave up all hope, and let myself be led from the clearing.

Then, quite suddenly, I heard _twang...zip! _An arrow buried itself into the side of the wolf on my left. That was one wrist free. _Twang...zip!_ The other fell dead beside of its companion.

Before I really knew what I was doing, I had whipped my sword out of its sheathe, and had shoved it into the chest of the third wolf behind me. Another arrow from Oreius claimed the last one. I had never killed anything before until that moment.

The centaur galloped toward me. "Are you alright?" He asked. I glanced down at my profusely bleeding wrists.

"I will wrap them, come here." He said. I nodded. While he wrapped my left wrist, I cleaned my sword with my right hand.

"I will clean them when we get to my home."

"Thank you for saving me, Oreius." I said. He smiled at me.

"You could have handled it, had I not been there. You did very well with your sword, Gabriel. It is of second nature to you it seems." He said. I allowed him to wrap my right wrist in the strips of cloth, and he stood.

"It is nearing sundown. Let us be on our way." He said. I sheathed my sword again, ignoring the pain in my wrists, and followed him to the clearing once more, where we set out again. The place to which he led me would be my home for the next year of my life.

a/n: Okay, I have some questions to answer. This fic _is _going to involve the Pevensies, because it is a Peter/Gabriel fic. I'm very sorry that I failed to mention that in the beginning. Thank you for all of the reviews, I am very excited that you guys like this story! I'm sorry that it took so long to update, I just got back from a Christian youth conference (and it was wonderful), but I should be getting a few chapters up this week, if my job allows me to. Thanks!


	4. The prophecy

a/n: If you recognize it, its not mine. Gabriel, however, is.

The wind swept through my hair as I ran through the trees.

"I _ will_ find you, you little mischief makers!" I yelled as I cautiously peered behind the nearest tree. The young fox cubs loved to play hide and seek with me. It was one of their favorite pastimes.

They were not, however, behind the large oak, which was usually their favorite hiding spot. I released a sigh of frustration. I had been looking for nearly twenty minutes, and was late for supper. Quite suddenly, I found myself upon the ground, staring up into three furry faces.

"Got you!" The youngest yelled, enthusiastically bouncing up and down on my stomach, despite the pained look on my face

"All right, you got me," I said, rising to my feet. They cheered with glee, for it wasn't often that I was bested at my favorite game. "but you better watch out, because I will get you next time!" I exclaimed, and chased the laughing cubs all the way back to their mother's den.

The shuddering wood had been my home for nearly a year. Oreius had fixed a spare bedroom for me in the back of his home when I had arrived. I had accepted his offer graciously, for I had nowhere to go.

He had become my companion, and teacher over the last year that we had spent together. He had taken it upon himself to teach me how to wield a sword. That was his first mistake. His second was choosing not to wear armor while he was dueling with me. My clumsiness gave him several bruises and cuts in the beginning stages of my training.

I had learned rather fast, though I still managed to hurt myself or Oreius quite often. My archery was a different story. My aim had been rather good before I had ever arrived in Narnia. All that I needed was some "fine tuning", as Oreius had said. It was now said that I "could rival any archer in all of Narnia" among the locals.

I arrived home after my thoroughly exhausting day with the fox cubs and sat down in my favorite wooden chair in the corner.

"I have something to discuss with you, Gabriel." I heard Oreius say from behind me. I noticed the concern in his voice, and I turned around with a grimace on my face.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Oreius was silent for a moment, then spoke with a sigh.

"Do you remember when I told you of the prophecy? The one about the two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve?" He asked. I nodded my head curtly.

"The one that says that they will defeat that terrible white witch and bring peace to Narnia again." I replied. He had told me of the prophecy my very first night staying in his house. He had told me of how important that these humans would be. They wouldn't just bring summer back to Narnia; they would bring _life_ back to Narnia.

"Well, they have arrived in Narnia." He said. I gasped audibly, and smiled at the thought of real freedom for my friends in the country.

"Aslan is assembling the army as we speak. Gabriel, your training is about to come in handy. Narnia is going to war." He said, a hint of patriotism rising in his voice.

"I will go and polish my sword, and make some new arrows, and….."

"Gabriel, there is something else that I must tell you." Oreius said, cutting me off mid sentence. I stopped midway through the small kitchen and turned to face him.

"There was another prophecy, Gabriel. One made along time ago. One concerning…you." His words didn't register within my mind. A prophecy made about me?

"Tell me." I commanded, my tone harsher than what it should have been. Oreius sighed and began.

"_Beaten, battered, broken down_

_shall she come to claim her crown._

_With arrow head, and sword, and knife,_

_Shall she save a precious life._

_She'll be among the first to come,_

_Among the last to leave,_

_Yet she'll find what she is searching for,_

_Under the Narnian trees."_

For a few minutes, I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say. I let the arrow that I was holding fall to the floor around the second verse of the prophecy. With my cheeks blushing furiously, I bent down to pick it up.

"That prophecy can't be about me, Oreius. I'm not a hero. I'm not destined to save the life of someone precious." I said, turning my back to the centaur and walking from the room. Beyond the door, I paused long enough to hear him sigh.

"It _is_ you, Gabriel. You will see it before the end of all of this."


	5. Chapter 5

a/n: if you recognize it, it's not mine. Gabriel, however, is.

It was the first time that I had ever laid eyes on the great cat, Aslan. Oreius and I had arrived at the soon-to-be camp, for there were hardly any tents sat up yet, and were met face to face with the king of the whole wood.

When I saw him, a great feeling rose from the pit of my stomach. It was like the feeling that a child gets on Christmas morning when he saw how many presents that he had to open. In his eyes, I saw more wisdom that I could comprehend. I saw more love than I had ever known in my entire life.

When he spoke, it was as though a song filled my ears, not words.

"Welcome, Oreius, and Gabriel, daughter of Eve." He spoke. I followed Oreius' example and bowed low to the ground. He laughed at my pitiful attempt to be proper.

"You have traveled far, and you must be tired. There are proper places for you to rest if you desire. Gabriel, I took the opportunity to see that your tent is placed near to the soon to arrive humans. I thought that someone of your own race may comfort you in the midst of this dark occasion."

"But it is not to be a dark occasion for long. We will soon defeat the white witch and claim Narnia for our own!" Oreius spoke with fervor. I could tell that he was eager to start planning the battle out in detail with Aslan. I, however, thought that a nice long sleep sounded rather good… so that's exactly where I headed to—to get some sleep.

We had been at the camp for three days. I was sitting up in the tree next to my tent when I heard the trumpet's call. I didn't even need to get out of my tree to realize that the four had arrived. I watched as every centaur, dwarf, faun, and creature alike ran from their tents and gathered along the beaten path that served as our road to Aslan's grand tent.

I jumped from my tree, cracking my head in the process. When I landed on the ground, my hand shot to my forehead, and I felt a small trickle of sticky liquid pouring from my fresh wound. _"Oh lovely, now when I meet the only other humans in Narnia, they're going to think I'm a klutz."_ I though, scurrying to my tent to grab a piece of cloth and clean the blood from my forehead.

Upon satisfaction, I left my tent and walked to the side of the road where the crowd had gathered, trying to push my way through. Upon reaching the front of the crowd, I noticed three children, and two beavers standing before the great cat, Aslan.

The youngest child was a girl with shoulder length black hair. She looked to be about seven or eight years old. Next to her was another girl, though she looked to be about thirteen or so. She had dark chestnut hair, and was standing beside of who looked like the oldest child. He had sandy brown hair, and looked to be around the same age as myself.

I suddenly noticed… the prophecy said that there were to be four children, but I only saw three. The eldest boy answered my unasked question.

"Our brothers been captured by the white witch." He said remorsefully.

"Captured? How could this happen?" Aslan said, lowering his eyes to the ground. The next to speak was one of the beavers, who were standing with the youngest girl.

"He… betrayed them, sire." He said.

"Then he has betrayed us all!" Oreius said angrily. I took this opportunity to stow away, and head back to my tent. All hope was lost. The fourth child had chosen to side with the enemy. I sighed, and ran a hand through my unruly hair.

"Great," I whispered to no one, as I walked inside of my tent, "just great."

I walked out of my tent later, to find three down trodden children sitting beside of a fire right beside of my tent. I walked over casually. I had never really been a people person, one of those things that I can blame on my father.

The youngest began whispering to her siblings upon seeing me. I continued to walk at a leisurely pace as the three of them stood. The youngest was the first to greet me, extending her hand.

"I'm Lucy Pevensie. You must be the other human that Aslan was talking about earlier." I nodded my head.

"I guess that I am. I'm Gabriel." The other girl extended her hand.

"Susan. Nice to meet you." She said. I nodded my head.

"Nice to meet you too." The boy extended his hand and shook mine briskly, then dropped it to his side.

"Peter." Was all that he said, before resuming his stance on the ground. I sat down around the fire with the three of them. The two girls returned to their former positions. Not a word was spoken. I decided to break the silence.

"Oreius vowed to find your brother. He doesn't go back on his word." I said. Lucy gave me an encouraging smile.

"Plus you have Aslan on your side." Peter looked at me for the first time since our awkward handshake.

"How did you get here?" He asked. His tone was dead and uncaring. I told me story to the Pevensie children, leaving out the details about my dad. That wasn't information that you shared with just anyone.

"I could ask the same question of you." I replied. Lucy was the one the told the story to me.

"I was hiding the in the wardrobe, in the spare room….."

By the time that I retired to my tent later that night, I hadn't had more than ten words with Peter Pevensie. I slipped out of my dress and into a dressing gown and lay down upon my bed.

"That will change tomorrow. I'm going to get a smile out of that boy, if it kills me." I said to myself as I closed my eyes for a night of rest.

A/N: well, sorry if that was a bit dry and boring, but it _had_ to happen, you know? I suck at introducing characters for the first time, so it should pick up in the next couple of chapters. And oh yes, sorry that it has been so long. To say that I was busy is a complete understatement. I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Thanks for understanding! Oh, and to all that have reviewed, thank you!


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